Song of the Week: What I Am
Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians
What I Am
So who remembers this song from Mrs Paul Simon, Edie Brickell?
‘What I Am’ always reminds me of a certain kind of American preppy-college-folk-rock that hung around for a bit in the late 80s (see also Michelle Shocked, Tracy Chapman, Toni Childs, 10,00 Maniacs etc.). Like most music it made me yearn for another life in another world – in this case, leaving boring old school and getting a pad of my own where I could wear long flowing hippy skirts, drink strong coffee and burn incense all day without my parents telling me off.
‘What I Am’, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, 1988
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Tags: song of the week
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 am
coincidently, ol’ edie has been rediscoved both by myself and the local bus interchange where a loop of 80’s and 90’s hits have been playing to keep the ‘yoof’ away. it’s not working.
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
80s hits aren’t going to keep the kids away! The 80s are trendy. The yoof are probably flocking to the bus station in the hope that they’ll hear some genuine Countdown classics!
The 90s though, that would keep people away. Maybe they should try non-stop Oasis at our local station rather than Mozart? No cool kid would want to hear them these days surely.
April 5th, 2009 at 12:34 am
Yep remember it. Good stuff. Whatever happened to Edie Brickell? I seem to remember a feeble Emma Bunton remake, but we won’t dwell on that…
April 5th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I tried (not very hard, admittedly) to find out what had happened to her.
I found her website: http://www.ediebrickell.com/ which is er… interesting in its brevity…
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:15 am
Edie Brickell (and her band, New Bohemians) are still around; although she has only released albums sporadically:
Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars (1988)
Ghost of a Dog (1990)
Picture Perfect Morning (1994) (solo)
The Live Montauk Sessions (2000)
Volcano (2003) (solo)
Stranger Things (2008)
Her solo albums are gentler than the early New Bohemians discs, but they are also excellent. She seems to have had little interest in promoting herself as a pop star, though.